Henry England Cole

Henry England Cole, 90 years old, died peacefully in his home, Friday, May 16, 2025

Born August 14, 1934 in Longview, Texas to John Francis Cole and Mildred Dorothy Winkelmann, Henry spent most of his early years traveling with his younger brothers John and Dick to places that would always be special in their hearts: Brenham, to visit their grandmother Katie Hodde Winkelmann; and Caddo Lake, a favorite family getaway. He graduated from Marshall High School in 1952, followed by a stint in the National Guard. While on maneuvers in West Texas, he was bitten by a rattlesnake, and a fellow guardsman saved his life by cutting open the bite and sucking out the poison, rinsing out his mouth with the only thing on hand—a bottle of Coke. (All Henry was left with from this experience was a huge divot in his calf muscle and a lifetime love of Dr Pepper.) During the late ‘50s to the early ‘60s, he worked as a liaison between the Louisiana Highway Department and the Office of Governor Earl Long during the building of I-20 across Northern Louisiana. It was during this time he realized that road engineering was something he wanted to continue to do, and he had a good teacher and mentor in Wayne Huckaby, chief engineer for part of the project.

Henry married Sandra Christine Holden, of McAllen Texas, on October 4, 1963 in Houston, while he was employed as the office manager for Brown-Fogle Equipment. She followed him to Orange where they lived with their two children for eight years while he worked as the Executive Officer for Keown Supply. Henry and Sandy returned to Houston briefly before he purchased the business that came to be known as Equipment Headquarters in Beaumont in 1972, becoming the Case Heavy Equipment dealer for SETX for over 30 years. He passed on his heavy equipment savvy to son, Craig, who worked as his Executive Officer before eventually moving on to Beaumont Tractor. Henry was on the board of directors for Allied Bank and could always be found at the yearly South Texas State Fair's livestock auction, supporting area youth and his daughter Hillary's love of anything smelling of the barnyard.

Henry and Sandy loved Mexico, and traveled back and forth over the border to Saltillo and Monterrey during the first years of their marriage. Once the kids were older, they explored it far and wide. Henry fished the coastal areas while Sandy toured the ancient ruins. Once they got the motor home, they traveled to wherever there was a good beach and an available mechanic.

As a young man, Henry loved to golf, as well as bird and duck hunt, but after a serious back injury following a tangle with a cement truck, he turned to fishing and photography: if there wasn't a pole in his hand, there was a camera. His love of cameras and trains once found him with his best friend, Smokey Hurst, on the infamous Trinity River Bridge, in Trinity, Texas, trapped by an incoming train. You can just imagine two middle-aged men jumping off that high trestle into the river below like Butch and Sundance of old—but with cameras dangling from their necks and no explosives going off behind them.

Henry also never met a stray animal he didn't want to take home, and the house was constantly full of dogs, and double-digit numbers of cats, some feral, all living rich, full-lives.

He loved his lakehouse, his BFF's Jim Dunn, Smokey Hurst, and Bob Tackett, his dogs, and his books, and most weekends you could find him relaxing in the hot tub, riding his quad and trapping feral pigs with friends in East Texas, beaching at Sea Rim with his dog Missy, or sport fishing in Mazatlán.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Sandra, his son, William Craig Cole of Beaumont, his daughter Hillary Cole Davis (Clark) of Denver, Colorado, and his grandson Ethan Halley Davis (Miran) of Boulder, Colorado.

Special thanks to Altus Hospice and nurses Raccobi, Summer, Kourtney, Sandra, and staff members Rhonda and Christina for his at-home end-of-life care. Also, thanks to Visiting Angels for their support.

No services are planned at this time.